Movies are big, we know that. Before we start talking about the impact of the cinema industry on our environment, first we need to the how. How do movies even come under the radar of affecting the carbon footprint? How is it that even a debate, we have never thought about it till now and is it even the right question to be asked, Factories are the ones to be blamed, movies have never come under questioning? With the adequate data we have right now, the right question to be asked is, how did it not? Movies worldwide made 42.5 Billion Dollars in 2019, it’s a huge industry. So, the rightful conversation should start with this question., How did it not think about it?
Intro
Here's the deal. Movies are not made by a small group of people. Even medium-sized movies have hundreds if not a few thousand people working on a single project. A stupendous number of agencies involved, people all around the world contributing, unions, full-timers, part-timers, production unit, lights and sound, technicians, graphic designers, advertisers, ground-level worker such as carpenters and engineers who work on building huge sets to Executive producers and Directors who take flights from Los Angeles to London back and forth., The least to say is, it is a chaotic mess.
How So?
The immediate next thing that should come to our mind is the travel expenses and the air travel that it takes for all of these folks that work to go around. Directors love shooting in exotic locations we have never heard of, don’t they? All the beautiful landscapes, wide shots, and all of that. It’s shipping the entirety of all of the guys to these remote locations. With that comes the CO2 emissions tag. The impact is huge. But have filmmakers acknowledged this yet?
Hint of Positivity
Yes. They have, although only a handful, for now, it is a promising start. Jurassic World: the Fallen Kingdom was one of the biggest names to go as much green as they can. From simple things like shifting 75% LED to asking everyone on set to not use plastic bottles and shift to reusable ones. Sony Paramount Pictures claim their movie, The Amazing Spiderman 2, to be their most eco-friendly movie yet and to many more like First man and Ghostbusters have also given a nod to being as eco-friendly as possible.
It is not just the creators who have talked about this, The Motion Picture Association of America has stressed how studios i.e., offices and campuses not film production that occurs on location all around the world are cutting down on waste. Production powerhouse Walt Disney is promoting efforts made towards ‘say green’ and has firmly acknowledged their responsibility to what is needed to be done.
Outro
But we do know what our world will be like if we don’t save it, don’t we? An uninhabitable world situation occurs, people go to space to save the entire human race. Sounds a little too much familiar? Rings a bell? Movies have taught us that quite too well now maybe. Well, at this rate, that’s what we are going towards. An uninhabitable world. Cutting corners and being green is the only thing we have that we can do to strive towards. Whatever it takes, we need to. This Cine Industry is huge and it cannot and must not be ignored, more people should know about this and the right steps ought to be taken. My only tone and message in the entirety of this article are very clear and I want it to stick, an industry that is as sizable as this one should not be overlooked.
Statistics: Billboard Vice Greentech Media CCCBLAB
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